Out of the Ashes
by Enthound
Summary: They say with strength and determination you can "rise from the ashes of failure. However I don't think they meant that literal. You would think being reborn by flames because of a bird that can light it's feathers on fire, to be a blessing. But when its to a fictional world of ninja... life's an adventure'. (SI/OC)
1. Out of the Ice and into the Fire

**With exceptions to the Hitori clan and other OC(s) I do not own Naruto and its contributing characters, they belong to Kishimoto.**

Out of the Ashes

Chapter 1: Out of the cold and into the flames

Cold. Thats all there is… thats all I feel… cold. In the most literal sense. Its hard to imagine that one camping trip can go so horribly wrong. That saying 'goodby' to my roommate as I moved out the door would be for the very last time.

The trip started simple enough; backpacking to the summit with my best friend, making camp halfway before the really steep climb and continuing the very next day. It was early spring, there wasn't even any snow where we made camp. But after 7 hours of hiking practically straight up (okay I maybe overdramatic there, but it was steep) the temperature dropped and a light powder of snow became a thick blanket. The temperature so cold. I could make chop sticks out of snot if my nose was running.

But we were prepared, we weren't complete idiots. We had heavy coats, hats, gloves, scarfs and even those emergency blankets. You know the thing that looks like the fabric version of tinfoil…?

… Anyway.

Despite my huffing and puffing I was antsy to get to the summit a bit faster and was too eager. In a rare moment of vanity I wanted to show off. So I kicked it into high gear yelling back "I'll see you at the top!" to my friend. After an extended forced jog I finally made it to the summit a good 15 minute ahead of my friend and was surprised to see a gruff looking man with a modern hunting bow over his shoulder. That was all the time needed for things to go wrong. The view would have took my breath away, if the trip up here hadn't stolen it already. I just stood there on the cliff side for a few moments gaping at the wondrous wooded pine forest that stretched and undulate with the hills like a green sea in freeze frame.

But what truly took my breath away was a golden bird with red shimmering streaks in its wings and a loose feathered crest on the back of its head. The bird was soaring over head. It was unlike anything I have ever seen before and even from this distance I could tell it was bigger then a condor. Its feathers flash in the sun's light like flames, its long graceful tail trailed behind it like a tongue of fire.

I heard a similar gasp to my own from the gruff man beside me. But instead of just looking in wonder he pulled off his bow from his shoulder and knotted an arrow.

"What are you doing!?" I gasped at the stranger, ignoring the nagging feeling of keeping my mouth shut. "that bird has to be rare, I never seen or heard of anything like it! You can't… you can't kill it."

The man simply scoffed, "Such a narrow view of things," he smirked, "Much can be learned from its body. Not mention more valuable then the deer I originally come here for."

He whispered the last part, but I heard him all the same. Before thinking properly, I shoved the bow with my palm making him send the arrow off corse. Despite missing his target by quite a bit, the bird seem to sense the danger and flew further away and out of range.

I watched the man gape for a minute, staring mindlessly where the bird was, before his face slowly twisted and turned red. A deep gurgled growl escaped his throat as he slowly turned to me with a raised hand. At this point fight or flight mode kind of took over and before even confirming if he'd take out his anger on me, I fled off the path.

I raced through the wood on uneven terrain heart pounding in my ears. Leaping over roots and pushing back branches I frantically raced. Idiot. That's what I was, an idiot. I ran before even fully assessing the situation despite hearing him roar in anger. I could not help it, when I saw his face twist in anger and move to hit me, all I could see was my… father. It would have been smarter to head back down the trail I came. And now I was just getting further off the trail and into the wilderness.

I remember bursting through the tree line so focused on my fear and the past that I did not see the cliff face until braking was to little too late. Skidding to the cliff I stiffened and sucked in a breath before I went tumbling forward. Terror gripped my heart when I pitched down, my body acted on its own. With out really thinking, I tried to swing my arms in a frantic pinwheel like fashion to try and rectify my mistake, but it was in vain.

For a moment everything seemed to stand still, my visible breath fogging up my glasses, my muscles tensing in terror, and the caw of a crow felt drawn out. Then time seemed to unravel too fast as if to make up for those few moments of slow-motion. I felt myself falling, bouncing off the cliff face and on to a snow bank on a lower ledge. My breath was knocked from me as I landed on my leg wrong and heard a disturbing snap and red hot pain shot up to my brain. I screamed in agony. Once the pain became bearable, I clenched my teeth and carefully pushed my self against the side of the cliff. My leg was broken, not terribly so, but enough that there was no way getting back up was possible, let alone hike back.

Time passed to a crawl after that moment as minutes turned to hours and day became night. And now, wile my leg now felt num, I could still feel the chill seeping through all the pours of my body. Frost clung to any exposed skin, my lips felt blue and shivers wracked my body. My cloths protected me for some time, but after 12 hours and now well in to the night I can feel hypothermia crouching down on me like a hungry puma. Whats worse was I was on my back and the emergency blanket was teasingly waving at me, illuminated by the moon light, from a large branch just out of reach my backpack nowhere to be seen.

It feels like it is getting colder and colder, and now I can't feel any of my limbs anymore. Soon I will not feel anything, just the cold and the ice forming on my skin. I fought to stay awake, but I felt myself losing. Just as I felt deaths icy grip slowly enclosing me, as if the universe was taunting me, I could distinctly hear voices carved on the breeze from the other half of my hiking group (who promised to come a few days after us) and the friend I raced ahead of calling out my name, "Zayha". But I was too weak to call back.

I would have snorted at irony and cried in the misery of recognizing my fate… if I could move. But strangely enough even though I have stressed and fretted over the most frivolous things in life, I feel at peace, for the most part at this most monumentous part of life's journey that is 'death'. But only after I frustratingly berate myself for running off the path for over reacting in fear to a man's anger that may not even resulted in violence, despite me being the cause of it. Although I regret having never found my soulmate, I still feel like I got what I needed done in life and felt ready to let go. When my eyelids were getting too heavy to keep open, I prepared to let go of my soul.

Yet. Just before my eyes shut forever, out of no where, the magnificent, but tattered bird that I protected, landed on the branch with the emergency blanket right above me. For a moment a sluggish thought said "Oh look, it has come to eat me once I become dead within the next minute." But the bird's intelligent, perceptive, old and… tired(?) eyes said otherwise. As it crouched, a warm blue fire ignited beneath its feathers. It tipped its body in my direction wings partly extended. My slow mind could not process this curiosity; that such intelligence if not sentient understanding in that beautiful red and golden bird's eyes should not be. Hypothermia finally claimed me.

-—-—-—-

Death was not something I thought about in life, although I believed in God and the eternal frame work of the soul. Even so, I did not expect to go from cold to hot the moment my life left me.

... What is this, what is happening? Blue flames danced around me, roaring in my ears… I still have those? the fire incinerated the dome of twigs that was once over me to ash… when did I get buried in branches? Yet the true flame did not consumed me, in fact the flames were liking off my skin as if my body was the original source of the fire and rather then destroying me it felt rejuvenating, coaxing my sizzling skin into existence… wait what?

… How on earth do you spontaneously combust from hypothermia!?

Wait, I am dead right? Granted I don't have prior experience being dead, but I know I died, I felt my life slipping away. I do not think I'm supposed to feel like I still had a body. I was breathing again, feeling the heat in my nostrils, the strain of my muscles, and the steady thump of my heart.

Yet something is…, this body felt… something is different. It feels like there is a fire flowing through my veins that is spiraling and collecting in my belly. Strangely it didn't hurt, like the dying fire licking off my skin it was restoring my vitality. It's heat empowering. Unlike the flames it grew steadily and did not lax in power over time, instead it plateaued and became a constant burning stream through out my body. My mind felt like a furnace with its heat slowly adding and twirling to the smooth, melting, burning sensation at my belly.

I wanted to scream but it caught in my throat and became a whimper, despite how alive this burning made me feel, it felt so alien. Fire and heat is not suppose to feel more refreshing then water. WHAT IS GOING ON!? Nothing feels right, why am I not dead? If I'm alive- some how... why can't I move?

I want to curl into myself like a smoldering leaf, but all the success I managed was a huff that became a cough from inhaling the ash and embers that I'm now buried under. Tightness gripped my heart, and heaviness dropped into my stomach. Come on, move… twitch- anything!

After what felt like hours of belligerent panicking, I forced myself to calm down. Once settled I noticed the inner fire sensation was being sucked out from the center of my belly into something smooth and rounded that was nestled where my bellybutton should be, right over the new, fire, whirlpool energy sensation in my belly. But before I could questions this new development, it stopped. Once the sensation stopped, it almost felt like something clicked and I slowly began to be able to move my sore, new muscles.

The smooth object on my belly hummed and pulsed with the same fire feeling I felt in my body… It almost felt a part of me and for some irrational reason I felt protective of it. Slowly bending what felt like legs, and flexing my arms, I felt the ash shift as I carefully raised myself out of the ashes, mindful of what was on my belly which gently roll into my lap. Ash toppling from my head as I looked to my lap and stiffly dug through the heap of ash that piled to my shoulders to reveal a golden shimmering orange… egg?

What!? So it is not weird enough to spontaneously combust after freezing to death, and have what feels like a comfortable fire (oxymoron there) burning through my veins, and wake up in a huge pile of ash. But I also seemed to have laid an egg, that I don't remember laying, too? O-hh… I think I feel a headache coming on.

With a moan I start to bring my hands to my head, and freeze when they start to pass my face, at which point all I could do is stare. My hands... they were different. Gone was the thin calloused hands from wood working and in its place were the pudgy, soft hands of a toddler. But, I'm 43, how could this have happen?

Ripping another moan, my now pudgy little hands continue their trajectory and slam into my head and slowly dragged through my hair, where yet more bazaar-o discoveries were made. My hair felt soft, almost fluffy. Ringing my fingers through my scalp I found many short soft projections with a stiff backbone intermingled with my hair follicles. Concentration of the projections rated in greater number at the top of my head. Scrunching up my forehead in confusion I picked at one of the odd projections and finally plucked it, and… Owww. That was NOT just simply glued down!

With trepidation I brought the inquiry to my face and gave it a long cold glare. It's... a feather? A golden down feather with a silver shaft to be exact, hmm.

"* _What did your feather ever do to you little fire sister*_?" I jerked, and reflexively curled protectively around my mysterious egg to the sound of a smooth chipper voice, "* _Relax… I'm your new older fire brother. See.*_ "

And with the ending to the chipper voice's alien tongue another down feather was shoved in front of my nose making me go cross eyed. This feather was a glossy black with a lightning blue shaft pinched between the tan fingers of an young boy around 7 years old.

At first quick glance I would suspect he was a normal human, kind of like Hugues from Full Metal Alchemist only with elongated facial features reminiscent of a bird. Taking another glance I noticed some particularities about him. One: his eyes were brown… and looked like someone transplanted a hawk's eyes in to his sockets, complete with rapid constrictions of the iris (that looked like it took over his sclera) to tiny sized pupils and relaxing for abnormally large pupils. Two: he had feathers in his black hair, and not just down feathers he had some developed feathers too, that shown a glossy black and shimmered blue. Three: on top of his head, which was situated like a nest made up of his hair and feathers, was an unusual looking chick.

The chick was ugly, with ash colored down feathers a bare gray chest, a black curved beak, and beady black eyes. The chick blinked curiously at me and squeaked.

"* _Right you are Shinga, we most certainly do have an adorable little fire sister_.*" The boy chuckled at the ugly thing, lifting a finger to briefly stroke the chicks black beak.

Although I could not understand him, that last part of his sentence sounded dangerously like baby talk, making me scrunch up my face.

Ehh?

"Ehh?"

I decided to voice my thoughts so elegantly.

"* _Sorry, little fire sister but for us to figure if your the language from your previous life is similar to one of our previous lives, your going to have to say something more then, 'ehh'_.*"

"* _Can you speak more… like an adult, please_?" A gruff new voice growled in the same alien tongue, "* _I'm about to barf at your baby talk Hue.*_ "

This new character was older and had wild spiky red hair with yellow feathers, making it look like he had a synthetic fire on top of his head. His face is angular, with similar facial features reminiscence of a bird and looked like he had a permanent scowl. He had the same odd bird like features as the first boy only instead of styling his hair into a nest with a chick in it, on his shoulder he had what look like a orange and red juvenile version. Of. The… Bird I saw before my 'death'.


	2. Out of the Norm

**I do not own Naruto or its contributing characters, their owned by: Kishimoto. I only own my OCs and the Hinotori Clan**

—-

Chapter 2: Out of the Norm

We stared at each other, me and that impossible bird on that fire headed tween's shoulder with fervent intensity. Until finally I blinked and as if it won some unspoken competition the red bird relaxed and puffed up its feathers. Chirping a proud squawk the bird straitened up and went back to what I can only describe as the epitome of regal manor.

Blinking the dryness out of my eyes I cradled my mysterious egg and finally took in my environment. Surrounding me is a garden parted off in to 9 sections at varying ages of growth, each with a silver/reddish barked tree. Beyond the trees was a sheer drop. I was in a tenth section that would have completed a widely spaced ring of trees. Only instead of a garden and tree, my section was a blanket of ash, that still had lightly burning blue embers scattered about. The embers around me burning and glowing hotter then of the whole ash covered section. At the center of the tree ring was a fountain, with a titanic statue of the same type of bird that's on the synthetic fire haired kid's shoulder.

As I continue to curl around my egg more shadows where added to these feather headed boys. Squeaking I looked up to be greeted with 7 more feather haired, hawk eyed caricatures. Who approached gently with soft smiles, as if I was an easily frightened doe. Which I was. Frighten I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not a deer.

4 gals and 3 more dudes, one standing a good head above the rest. He looked to be the oldest of the 9 bird like people, looking around 20-23 years old. The Tall One step forward slowly crouching in front of me and gently started brushing and scooping the ash off and away from me, only pausing when I flinched to his touch.

It was with that brush to the shoulder that got me to notice the ash was all that covered me. With rose dusted cheeks I wrapped my arms around my chest, turning away from the weird bird people. However the Tall One smoothly maneuvered back into my line of site.

Shivering I eyed the older boy, who slowly shifted back on to his haunches giving what looked like the softest kindest look he could muster. There is just no getting away from my new reality is there? Clenching my eyes shut, I wanted to panic, being surrounded by strangers in a strange place. But I spent all my panic when I felt paralyzed, silly me. Now I just feel ironically cold.

With all the frightening oddness I've endured it felt so much easier to just metaphorically stick my head in the sand, then to just go through the blind panic. Yes. ignore the state of affaires, the bird people, their fire birds and the strangeness of the fact that everything has brighter and clearer colors, almost like in an anemia… not dwelling on it, not dwelling on it.

Nothing is happening, this is just… ahhh… a dream. Yeah thats it. This is all a dream… I'm not convincing anyone, including my self here am I? Shut up me! I'm in denial.

Lets see… I can just feel that slight pressure of my blanket getting draped over my shoulders. Wait… with this new sensation I snap my eyes open and cower. Shyly plucking at the soft material that was gently laid over my shoulders and mechanically slither my arms in to the robe's sleeves. Peeking back up at the young man, my insecurities melting to his calm relaxed crouching poster.

He had a strong lean face with laugh-lines, and the common theme of sharp bird like human face, with amber hawk eyes, and copper feathers in his black spiky/curly hair with dark burnt orange highlights. He smiled down on me trying to get his very tall muscular form as small as possible.

"* _Don't fear."_ He rumbled in a kind voice that I can only compare to what I think Santa would sound like. Which put me at ease, despite it being in anther language and that the voice is also greatly displace on his muscle bound form with broad shoulders, _"*You will never have to fear your fellow fire siblings, now speak up.*"_

With the end to his gentle voice he pointed to his face, mimed words and pointed back to me. A soft cooing sound accompanying his actions that came from a large, dark copper bird with a bright orange belly that resembled burning embers. His bird looked at me just as gently from his shoulder.

Swallowing thickly I parted my lips and close them, I don't know where my voice went, but apparently its on vacation. Judging by the fact that only sputtering came dripping out of my mouth.. this is going to continue to be a hard day.

But the man was patient, giving an encouraging nod. I felt myself nodding along with him. Well might as well gather my courage and respond.

"Wher-, who- what happened to me?" I finally said after what seemed to be an eternity.

"You were at the other side of death's door. But the Mother Phoenix, gave a part of her regeneration powers to you so that you could be reborn by fire and has given you her final egg. Don't ask me how it works, except that it requires the recipient, that is us, to be from another dimension. We are pushed in to the Mother Phoenix's home dimension here in the Hidden Lands, in order for the rebirth to work." The man explained, in my own tongue! For little good that does, considering what he was saying was nuts and bag of trail mix! "Best to pick that jaw up from the floor child, you'll ketch flies. You may not believe me, but I can't think of another way to explain it. Considering how… alien it is and the fact I don't fully understand the process myself. (chuckle). I remember when I was in your position, seeing this whole scenario as hard to swallow. Best to just except what is, in order to avoid the head ache. Trust me."

I can only stare at him with a raised eye brow. Settling down in a crosslegged potion the man patiently waited for my mind to start working again.

"How are you talking? I mean you were not talking like that before." I finally shouted at the man and quickly looking around again before talking much more quietly, "Where is here? You said 'Hidden Lands' but I don't know what that means. Does this mean I can't go home?"

I could not help the sudden homesicknesses despite the fact I don't feel like I have left anything unfinished and did not have much of what could be considered family. Only friends and my church.

"Ai and Thureon where better at explaining these things then me." The man, scratch his head before bringing his fist to his chin in a considerate poster. "However I believe it would be better if I introduce myself first, my name is Hinotori Able or Youndai, as I'm called now, the newly instated head of our little clan, the Hinotori, and the first to be reborn by fire."

Sadness crept into his eyes, and he took a heavy sign before continuing.

"All of us have been in your position, being greeted with healing flames instead of death. Each of us are from a different dimension, not only separate from this one, but from each other as well. And before you ask, the universe is not only one thats vast, the plains of existence is vast as well. Different dimension, different realities, can be vastly divergent from each other- or they can be very similar. Such similarities can include speaking the same language. Some people even had dreams of other realities and have based stories off of them, unaware that they have a rare ability to catch a glimpses of other worlds and even see possible futures of that world.

"I wont lie this is going to be hard for you to except, but know that you have fellow clan members who know what you are going through and are here to help. Even if we had a credible way for you to get to your dimension, it would be deadly for your new body. Something involving the requirement for its existence with the energy of the alien soul against the environment…? I don't know. But I witnessed it being deadly. So no, unless your suicidal we can't bring you to your home dimension."

We looked at each other, me with my 'What in the name of a kitten's furry pink lips?' kind of face, his with that now irritating pressing smile. I renovate my last thought and came to the conclusion that him and what is now my reality is fruity of every single variety. And I hope he does not think I've hadn't noticed he did not explain what the Hidden Lands were.

"Now!" Youndai said with a clap of his hands snapping me back from my haze, "I think it is high time to celebrate your first fire birthday and introduce you to your new fire family!"

Freezing with that big stupid grin still on his face, he watched me jolt to a new supine position due his sudden 'jack in the box' impression. Slowly shrinking back to his haunches looking sheepish, he rubbing the back of his head. squatting back to a cross legged position from where he sprang up.

I distinctly heard a mixer of sighs and snickers from my new 'clan-mates' or as he put it "fire siblings".

"Yes, well…" Wow from strong and unflappable to awkward in less then a minute. "Keep a good hold of that egg of yours, for us Hinotori what is growing inside there is practically half our soul… probably not literally but, you know, thats a partner for life in there it needs to be protected. Im sure you felt it pulse with the same fiery chakra you have as the mother phoenix's flames concluded in… ahhh sizzling your new body into being."

Sizzling? Really? Smooth description there, and… wait back up. Did he say chakra? Why does that sound so familiar?

Before diving into that vein of thought. A girl with orange hair and red feathers and a Juvenal bird with the same color theme in it's feathers _(I'm sensing a theme here)_ on her shoulder, approached our 'wondrous' new leader. She knelt and presented a ornate concave box with woven leather straps. Able excepted it with an 'ah' and gently cradled it in front of me.

"While that chick is developing, its very important to keep it as close to you as possible. Otherwise the chick will die." Youdai explained in that happy voice of his even when he said 'die', motioning with his hand for me to give him my arm to thread through the strap so that the box is against where my naval would have been. _'Oh hey I don't have a belly button anymore… Great'_ "Your belly or more specifically your hara is where your chakra the combination of your body and mind energies pools."

He does realize that if this stuff had't sounded familiar, it would be going right over my head. Right?

I continue to blankly stare at him, and again he gos through his sheepish routine. Our leader everyone, I feel so confident in his leadership skills already.

"The egg needs constant access to your chakra, so it is best placed where our chakra pools, for the egg to stay close. Oh, and don't worry about chakra you will learn about that later."

After examining the stuffed velvety lining, and deeming it satisfactory I gently passed my egg into the box once strapped into the harness. Only when finished did I noticed the hand stretched towards me. Following that hand to its owner, and looking back in to the 'hawk' eyes of Youdai. Despite my earlier trepidation to his competence, I found myself feeling safe staring into those strong amber eyes.

…. I smell witchcraft afoot! Or I'm going through the stress version of puberty with these bipolar feelings. Wait… I'm going to have to go through puberty again, aren't I!?

With out real conscious thought I place my pudgy hand into his strong lean one. With one fluid motion he pulled me to my feet. While everyone is watching with keen eyes, Youdai reached into a red pouch off his belt a gave me what looked like a elongated amber walnut.

Looking at the seed and then at him curiously, I raised an eyebrow.

"That is the seed of the Ember tree, the same one you see around us. Plant it where you first came into this world where it will get the most nutrient to grow the faster and the larger then it will ever be otherwise. To stand as a symbol of your fire birth, and let it grow with you to show the strength of the Hinotori."

Is he trying to be deep? Or is that a rehearsed line spoken to him in his starting hours? Which ever the case his speech sounded like it was originally inspired by fortune cookies. Well whatever, in heed to his instruction I looked to my ash pile and sighed. Well 'when in Rome' as they say. Bending over turned out to be a difficult venture, felt like a new born foal on these new legs. But Youdai stayed beside me and took most of my weight. With some difficulty I planted the seed beneath the pile of ashes, finding a random feather for my trouble.

Turning back the same way a new deer would, feather in hand I shied back when he again crouch to my level… well as close to my level he can get with out laying down. He's really Big! He looked at the long tattered feather in my hand with a solum look. Lips quivering slightly he stretched out his hand for the feather I found.

Taking the feather from me he held it almost reverently before turning on a serous act and raising an arm to ask for me to follow. Now I know he is trying to be someone else. It seems the orange haired and red feathers lady thought so too and whispered in his ear. After which, he sighed and looked rather sad. It even looked like the there was a.. storm cloud over his…? wait does anemia logic apply to everything here… did my jaw literally drop to the floor when he asked me to close my mouth?

However he went back to his normal joyful demeanor a few steps later after his little rain cloud dissipated, despite the sad undertones.

Now that I think of it, despite appearing to be back to his natural joyful deposition, his 'joy' now seemed forced. He was not the only one, the whole clan of 9- now 10 seem quite somber.

… perhaps I'm not as welcomed here as I thought. And there's the depressing homesickness, back again. A sudden heavy sigh could not be with held back as my stomach twisted into knots. With home not being home anymore I would still want a place to belong.

Taking a step and over estimating, going a little further forward then attend before correcting. With knee knocking I watch my clan mates approach the statue, and started going down? Oh, there must be a hidden stair case that leads under the fountain, how quaint. Now how am I going to get over there with my legs not not listening to me so well?

My thoughts turned to queasiness as I was abruptly lifted from my ash heap and cradled in Youdai's arms.

Hey I'm not a child you dolce. Although the fact I actually pouted at him like a child, kind of render that a mute point. But I'm 45!… in a child's body. I have a mature mind! Which is running around in circles and bipolar now. At least he's looking at me with kind and protective eyes, and his grip is gentle enough to make me think that what he's carrying is something precious.

Maybe the sadness is not related to me. It did only appear when I found the feather. Perhaps its connected to that?


	3. Out of the Egg

**Author's note: Yes I changed the protagonist's clan name. But I wanted their clan name to mean something, and hitori technically is just a surname in Japanese. So I have changed it to the Hinotori clan (** **火の鳥** **) with the literal Japanese translation of fire bird.**

 **"** **Hi" (** **火** **)= fire (hi- and ho- can both translate to fire in Japanese though I don't know if there is difference in context).**

 **"** **no" (** **の** **) being a Japanese transition symbol**

 **"** **tori" (** **鳥** **)= bird**

 **I do not own Naruto or its contributing characters, their owned by: Kishimoto. I only own my OCs and the Hinotori Clan**

—

Chapter 3

Out of the Egg

Clunk, Fwushh!

"Ow! Ahhh!"

The joy of getting woken with getting pecked and subsequently have a wave of fire instead of water blown into your face. I never asked Mouka to be my dam alarm clock, but that baka Phoenix seems to take great joy in spreading misery, mainly to me. The peck to forehead was hard enough to leave a red mark and while getting blasted by low level fire Jutsu is nothing but a nice sauna for us Hinotori, it was still startling. The dam bird could have found a gentler way of waking me up, or better yet let me sleep.

Mouka is the synthetic fire head, "Ena's" partner. Well technically his first birth's name was Cevan, but apparently that name is too 'out of the box' for someone of the hidden lands. And we so want people to think we're part of the hidden lands.

When I heard about the name change, the only thing I could focus on is if they had to change his name, why did it have to change it based on the name's meaning? He is so not "God's Gift" to anything or any one. He is a grouch, more then a grouch, he is the king of grouches with a takes dedicative pleasure in other's pain and abandonment issues. Of course I ignored the blatant paranoia of this clan's religious gusto of not wanting the world to find out that we are technically reincarnated fire babies… well it did not come to mind until later at least. Well he would always be 'Synthetic Fire Head Boy" in my heart.

The dam bird kawed me back from my musings, jumping away from my swipes and into the air. Again… baka bird. The bird just smugly hooted and… did that thing jut flipped me off? Well thats rude and frowned a pone, and I'm going to kill that bird!

Chasing a phoenix down the curving and inclining root supported hallways shrieking a bird like "skreeeee" was probably not the most mature thing to do- as a supposed mentally 46 year old. But "Captain flipped mushrooms" that bird keeps coming to try and peck my eyes out and retreat before I could so much as clip his wings, I have an obligation. And with its rancid absence I can rest in peace that my, little unhatched Phoenix chick still tucked in the box against my belly, will not be under the nasty bird's influence. Actually its been 3 years since I came about another life and it still has not hatched… hope she's okay.

Now what was I doing I lost my concentration…?

"skreee?" Queried the baka red and yellow bird.

Oh ya, I'm gonna make me some Phoenix stew. But first a quick check to see if my partner is any where close to hatching. No? Thats disappointing. Without further delay I reinstate my war cry, lifting my fist as if I were superman and charging forward from my stumbled halt.

Only my charge shortly stopped when we entered the large cavern supported by the fire eating roots of the ember trees in the ash garden above. The cause? Mouka landing and settling on his partner's shoulder. Safe zone. You live for now you no good toffy picking bird.

Synthetic Fire Head… I mean Ena, folded his arms against his chest and shook his head at my frozen superman impression.

"At least try to overcome your childishness, that's not the way to keep a low profile in our village's culture. You wont to see whats beyond the garden right?" Baka-Mouka clicked his beak, slowly shacking his head in disapprovement at me from his partners shoulder, "I thought you informed us you were 43 when you 'died' not 3. This little care in preparation can get you eaten and not being of strong mind will make you succumb to the rot! You have done well in learning to speak and read in our new language, but it requires more then book smarts to properly assimilate and find your place as part of this village and properly 'represent' our clan."

I could not help mockingly mute miming to his monologue wile using my hand as a puppet for his mouth, I knew he and most of hinotori believed that smock. Although I had to sputter a laugh when he said assimilate. He made it sound like we were the "Reach" from the DC comic series back in my old life. What, are we planning on conquering the world?

It was taking all my might not to roll around in my laughing at the comparison considering we Hinotori wanted 'assimilating' for practically the opposite reason from the Reach's reasons. As well as our methods was going more for the Jedi mind trick of "These aren't the droid your looking for" then the the Reach's parasitic like methods of attaching to their host and using them as meat puppets.

Ow…

That Fat Ogar Grizzle Muffin, threw a senbon at me!

"Pay attention!" He roar/shouted his face turning a funny shade of red, head getting cartoonishly big. Still can't figure out if these blatant animeish representations of emotion were an anime thing or is this genjutsu thing Suki has been teaching me about. Although it seems kind of counter intuitive for a ninja village.

Thats right a ninja village, kind of mind boggling, had me getting squirally for weeks when I found out… Perhaps thats part of the reason for the whole integration from being fire born is to not give all the information of my new home at once?

Douse not matter I'm still going to rant about not knowing all the 411 yet in my head-

Oooowww,

He threw two senbons into my thigh this time. Maybe if I'm lucky it will hit my femoral artery and I'll bleed out and he'll get into trouble. But he is too skilled to hit that accidentally, unless it was purposely… Stupid ninja.

"Will you stop daydreaming!"

"I'm not daydreaming I'm thinking dramatically at my self about anything and everything."

"Uh huh, we all have crutches to deal with dyeing kid." He deadpans, "But we can't lean on them forever, otherwise you'll be too slow and get eaten."

…

"Considering how often you use the horrific terms 'get eaten' and/or 'have a strong mind less you succumb to the rot"as a consequence to any action you find stupid, or reckless, I assume you came from, a zombi apocalypse kind of dimension. Right?."

… Considering his growls and seems to grow ominously bigger to my quip, I think I hit a nerve. So he may have gotten 'eaten' as a consequence for doing something stupid.

Good to know.

At least I wont have to worry about zombies here, just worry about how long its taking for my partner to hatch. Hay! maybe. Nope, disappointment again. My egg is just as still as ever, and I'm going to get wrinkles with all these worry faces I'm pulling. I know the other Phoenix chicks (at least the ones I asked about) hasn't taken this much time. Maes's, the first person I met in in this life, and his chick Shinga only took a year to hatch. He is also the only fire-bore who got to keep his first life's name, the lucky duck. Does not keep him from getting nicknamed Hue by Ena though.

"Enough of the daydreaming, lets get to your katas." He says flicking the lid of my egg box down again, grumbling- quite possibly profanities under his breath. He has a big proficiency for those.

Giving one languishing sign I dragged my feet following him beyond the central training post of the cavernous training ground.

"Why are you the one who is sensei today?" I whined, not necessarily to him, "anyone would be better, I would even take Mao-honee."

I continue to complain wile moving into each kata he growls for me to do and pointedly kind of ignored my complaining with exemption to some snarls. However I maybe downplaying that, considering he has me doing harder and more complicated katas wile snidely commanding me to do push ups at the most awkward of positions. I should probably stop, but my mouth keeps on running.

"And Mao-honee likes to literally put ants in my pants during katas to get me better at 'concentrating' on what I need to do despite distractions." I stupidly jabber on, "of course Jun'ichi-honii is my favorite he seems to kave to what I want to practice on and teaches new little interesting things to go with it, and you know how I like new interesting little things to learn. Better yet his partner likes cuddling."

Come to think of it Jun'ichi certainly lives up to his name. He really is a doormat.

"Come to think of it I've been coming to see your ugly mug more and more lately. Are you being punished or I'm I too cute for my own good?"

And it is true, despite the fact he only graduate ninja school 'snort! ninja school' around 7 month ago he's still cropping up for training. Even though the current curriculum is still the basics plus exercises… lots and lots of extra exercise in all kinds of flavors. So I don't exactly need an expert in these things. But I also don't need my proclaimed enemy to do it. They still have not even started on teaching me our clan's signature taijutsu stile the Blazing Wing. Such a bummer.

"In a manner of speaking." He replied through clench teeth.

"The former or the later?"

And with that he picked me up from the stiff color of my vest and threw me over his shoulder.

"And you call me undignified! I highly doubt your fitting seamlessly into society."

I roared from landing cleanly and charge for an impromptu attack only to get picked up like a kitten again and get bonked on the head by Mouka and for him to point a wing to the box at my waste. Just like that, the fighting spirit left me.

"No mater how strong and how that box keeps the shuffling from happening, no starting on sparing until that egg hatches." Ena threatened, lowering and looming over me, a dark aura spazzing out in the background.

Nervously rubbing the box, I was properly chastised. Perhaps another check is in order? After looking I could not help but give the red egg a soft stroke.

"Have I been too rough with her? Is it my fault she has not hatch yet, 3 years is awfully long time to hatch." I could not help the weak mumble with the bonus clenching stomach.

Ena rolled his eyes and gave a disapproving click of his tongue.

"Youdai-sama (Able) has already been over this with you. Fire-borned Phoenixes don't have a set time to hatch and all hatch on their own time table." Ena groused pulling both hands through his hair and feathers, "They also start hatching with out any warning too, annoying little buggars, but trust me you will know when it happens."

Mouka squeaked at the indignity of being called a bugger, taking and pulling one of Ena's feathers with his beak. Ena simply swatted at his bird.

"No need to get irritate and call me guano, Mouka. Take it like a m- fire bird."

As entertaining as their argument is, it only reminds me more about my own little partner, so I just went numbly straight through my exercises for the day. The cold apathetic feeling creeping back with the absence of my blustering… I don't want to be on that mountainside again.

—

"Alright thats enough kidadult, we are going to the Ash Garden" Ena, cut into what ever lap number I'm on around the training ground, rather abruptly making me startle off the root. I was balancing on the narrow root lip stretching a whole circuit around the training cavern wile running. Balance and cardio two for the price of one.

"But we just got started." And whats with the randomly less angry voice all of the sudden?

"Tsubasa-chan," And theres my new name, funny I thought Zayha sounded Japanese enough, "It's been 5 hours, no matter how old you are mentally you still have the body of a child. Don't push it outside the perimeter of its bounds. Less you not be of sound mind and succumb to the rot!"

Fore a moment after his glowering drill sergeant teaching stile his face switches to a softer glower, that then grew hard again as if it was never there. Perhaps it never was and it was my imagination.

"You need to face the unpleasantness and the fear to move out, and I will not coddle you so can jump back to that peppy annoying escape you have."

With that he the grabbed my head not caring how i swung around like a rag doll. I had nothing to it, but to bare it and vainly swipe at his arms. Stupid Pompous Sock Reject.

Hah, for his info I like being peppy, and for his continued education I have so much fun working out until sizzling droplets of sweet run down my brow (don't ask, its a Hinotori thing) that i completely did not relies how much time was passing. So ha!, the joke is on him now. Bet my chick would agree… she really is taking her sweet time, perhaps I have been too neglectful with her, not giving her enough chakra. I actually have gotten mostly past my… death with a few recurring nightmares and homesickness. The first year was the worst. But its never been in my nature to linger in what was. Now worrying about what is, thats a completely different story. Little egg why won't you hatch?

…Ahh great, I hate it how he shoves my face into his face for him to glare at with that "I know what your thinking" look on his continuously scowling mug. Mouka, gives me one more bonk on the head for good measure before launching off his partners shoulder and dives in the opposite direction up the shaft at the top center of the champers, a roaring bellow of fire in his wake. Ena does not even look up from his glare as he adjust his grip from my head back to my stiff color 'I'm beginning to wonder if thats what its there for' as he easily leaps the 50 ft height of the chamber and onto the smooth black stone surface of the shaft and ping pongs 7 times in mighty upward chakra powered leaps through the shaft and the opened entrance to the root training chambers bellow and out into the Hinotori Ash Garden.

There are no stairs… I don't think we hinotori really believe in stairs. I have never seen them in this second life considering I have never left the compound. And why should we believe in them? Stairs are stupid.

Finely breaking his glare and setting me down, Ena shifts trough a couple of hand seals, snake, boar, and… hare, I believe. And the rumbling and shifting of stone again covers the entrance to the secret training chambers and my temporary lower hidden nest. Now the entrance is hidden with the clan symbol of two founded wings place together like a rough yin-yang symbol in front of the Mother Phoenix fountain.

I embarrassingly flinch when he roughly takes me by the collar again and swings me over like a sack of potatoes and casually strolls through the garden of flowers, herbs, shrubs, vegetables and lots and lots of berry bushes, many of which I have never seen before in my old life. Some poisonous, some edible and some with healing properties. All plants tastefully arranged and grown together the poisonous and the edible sharing soil side by side and all grow far larger and brighter then their counter parts outside. So Im told, but its hard to refute that claim when there are marigolds with stems as thick as my fists and blooms as big as my head, all because of the ash of our rebirth. The 12 ember trees (the only trees in the garden) being the most impressive, the largest towering a good 700 feet high and with 7 feet thick trunk. The tattered leaves of the ember trees casting their own soft orange glow on the garden like burning embers. My own smallest ember tree I planted where I was reborn had already grown 7 feet in just 3 years, with its own candle version of the adult trees campfire flame kept burning deep in the crown of their branches started and fed from time to time from a hinotori clan member's fire jutsu.

Ena kept his stride purposeful as I swung lazily back and forth against his back, giving a lazy wave to Maes as we past him… picking flowers? Hmm, something to ask him later. He return my wave flowers still in hand, Shinga giving a loud chirp from his head. Odd guy.

Mouka gracefully zigzagging and twirling through the ember tree branches over head. Occasionally He played chicken with one of the tree houses, decorating each tree. Funnily enough, each of the 12 trees is given the old names of the fire-born hinotori clan members who will one day have their ashes buried at their base. Sadly despite the clan only being 28 years old (not including our founder's lifespan) two of the trees already have their planters ashes. One by war, the other by foolishness and not being able to let go of her old life, both trees growing faster towards their limits then the others.

With a good 15 minute stroll, Ena gave a stiff leap to an out cropping just far enough into the cloud like screen that hid the village from the garden. Or was it the other way around? Wouldn't be surprising. The funjutsu powered cloud screen kept the blue fire of my entry into this world a secret. Still not entirely positive that them keeping me on the secret part of the Hinotori clan grounds is them being staunchly overly protective of me in my more vulnerable younger years, or is again their blighted paranoia of keeping our fire-born secret secret. More then likely both.

Taking a deep breath of the cool breeze on my face I scan the sea of leaves below with the occasional island of brightly colored roofs. Closing my eyes I could just picture the hustle and bustle underneath the branches.

"Peacefulness, is just an illusion" Ena's sudden gravelly voice shook me from my musings, the kill joy, "But this illusion has certainly not always been like that, and it most likely not going to stay like that. Which is why we must prepare or-"

"-'get eaten, and be of strong mind less succumb to the rot' I know." I languished at him cutting him off with an overly dramatic sigh, "But their are no zombies here… right?"

He's not answering… Answer gosh crush it all and call it a custard.

"No, hopefully. worse, evil men with evil intentions, its in our nature." He finally responded blandly. "and with the bonus feature of being able to tame the elements."

What a pessimist. I had that in my, less horrifying, old dimension… minus the superpowers. He's one of those glass half empty kind of guys, eh?

Wait… what does he mean hopefully!

"Is that why I can't leave the nest or have been announce to even exist yet?"

He slowly, stiffly turned his head down towards me arching an eyebrow, twirls of the cloud cover snaking through the curvature of his face.

"You are our Ho-imoto the last one, doomed to forever be the youngest of the fire born. And so cursed forever to be the our perpetual glass doll."

Is he trying to make a joke? His face is as always so serious and looking like someone has shoved a bur up his unmentionable, so I can't tell. I'm just going to play it safe and feel insulted. Im adorably dangerous, not fragile. On second thought after a quick glancing down at my reflection in a groove filled with rain water, I come to the conclusion that I'm just dangerous.

"Im the last of the hinotori and by extension my little Phoenix egg is going to be the last of her kind!?" Have to ham it up with an overly-dramatic shout.

"What?" He sounded incredulous, not even the hint of panic… _Sigh,_ it always works for Suki. "Your being a pest again. Just because you and your Phoenix are the last to be fire-born does not mean there wont be more hinotori with their phoenixes to be born naturally… Stop it with that look, I know you must have had the bird and the bees talk. Your just trying for a reaction."

Well its no fun if he's going to play it like that.

Fine then!

"Bet Youdai-sama, will get engage to that nice Kunoichi, Un- something within 2 months of my egg's hatching."

Ena cocked his head and slightly looked down his nose at me.

"You hand wash my close right after training or missions for a month? And her name is Uni it shouldn't be to difficult to remember. Your being a pest again."

Eww, his cloths practically comes alive with grosses after training, better think of a better counter bet.

"And you will have to call me Tsubasa-sama and through yourself into any puddle that dares be in my path wile your in the clan grounds so I may not step in it for the same time period."

Iced it… no, nailed it. Our clan naturally HATES water. Even when it has not rained I could collect water from the fountain and make them.

Ena looks over the village for a few minutes and finally back at me with… oh sweet fudge buckets, that is the most close to the criminally insane type of smile I've ever seen. Not the kind of reaction I'm gunning for.

"Deal." He annunciates with a crushing hand shake.

I'm going to regret th-

Whoa… It almost feels like a pulse of both familiar and alien heat was displacing my chakra. Warm and comforting, thats what that pulse felt like. Instinctively I rested my hands on…. the box!

Slowly I opened my treasure box only gaining part of Ena's attention. I watch my egg for a whole minute and minutely shiver to that creeping seed of doubt that this was like all the other thousands of times I peeked at my egg. But I never had that sensation before, perhaps just a light pet…? Hay! Its wiggling!

"Peep!" Came a very soft sound, and for how low the volume it was, it sounded like thunder to my ears, the dancing shimmer of orange across the red shell's surface like crashing waves.

Now that had got Ena's full attention, Mouka's as well as he squawked dive bombing and gracefully smashing into the outcropping by our feet. Ena, only briefly gave an anime face of wide eyes with, no pupil or iris mouth hanging open and slight scrambling, before I felt myself getting scooped up and feel my stomach lurch when he started jumping into the trees, hopping from branch to branch. With in a moment he silently landing in front of the fountain in no time flat. This time it was Mouka with a few out of place feathers, that did the signs to open the hidden door with his talons mid flight. Ena dropped down the shoot landing in a crouch to spring for my nest. Fly/diving the curved hall like a pingpong ball.

In quick succession he placed me in the center of my bed of sticks and moss cradled in a polished and singed stone bowl of my room. Yes we actually sleep in nests, but there is a purpose… mainly to set it on fire. With no hand seals Ena blew a stream of fire setting the nest ablaze and stepped out of the room with Mouka closing the stone door, leaving me alone in a ring of fire. No, not alone my egg is hatching!

The red egg is wiggling and peeping more and more as I remain frozen with a stupid grin on my face. Until the first crack is seen, gently reaching in I took up and cradled my egg as it continued to crack and franticly peep.

As instruct I gently fed a little more of my hot chakra from hands and breath on to the egg furthering the imprinting already there. The egg seemed to shiver in delight to my chakra as the center of the web like cracks pushed slightly upwards until the the cutest little curved black beak pierced through the membrane. Slowly the beak slid forward amber colored fluid sliding down the shell, with each millimeter I felt my heart flutter. There were more harsh thumps and scratches inside the egg sell, the cracks getting bigger more numerous until the shell could take no more and gave way breaking down the middle of the egg, its membrane ripping away with a quiet sploosh.

Just like that, a baby Phoenix is born all wet and slimy.

Okay I pride my self on being honest… when I don't need to lie, but… she's ugly. She had bare ash colored skin, naked wings, a long neck topped with a head that looks too big for it. She had beady black eyes with a single tuff of down feathers on the back of her head. But she was also strangely beautiful.

With another cute peep she ran her long spindly black bird toes over her head trying to get the excess slime off. Mechanically I plucked a down feather from my hair and carefully swapped some of my partner's amber slime off. The chick shook her head at the feather and blearily blinked up at me. I do not know how long we just sat there in the fire staring at one another.

Okay mind is blank… what do I do, what do I do, I can't remember, first impressions are important. Oh right. With a dry gulp my partner still staring up at me unblinkedly, I meditatively reach for the bond that has been there since the very beginning and traced it to the chick's Hara and back to mine. Smoothly and slowly I traced my chakra across the link and gently brushed against the chicks, which was so much like mine. I did not grab on to her chakra just rest it against hers, waiting for her to take the next step. Her chakra seemed to shiver, blindly splashing against mine until it grab hold and in a single instant we felt like one mind, one emotion, one being. The chick happily squeaked and clumsily scooted and snuggled against my chest with the bond finally complete.

Now the next thing besides cooing and keening excessively, I bet my little darling is hungry, eventually she'll eat meat but for now I can use that one fire technique given to me. Separating a small tongue of fire from the pit around us I brought it as an offering and fed it to her like a meal worm, that she excepted with joy.

Now what shall I call you little one? Only one name comes to mind, and with brief consideration I think it is perfect. Nozomi- Hope, wish.


End file.
